Hello! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long this time :) Here's the next chapter. I'd like to know a little more about my readers, tell me in a review what's your favorite part of the story or who your favorite character is so far, I'd love to try and gain some inspiration from you guys!
Until next time!
Enjoy :)
Chapter 18: Ruse
Cold wind whipped against Sofia's face like a thousand tiny needles. She wished they hadn't been flying so fast. If they hadn't she could have at least reached up to hold on to the hat atop her head instead of clinging so hard to the thick, downy under feathers of the massive bird. Regretfully, her hat flew off some time ago making the wind blow her hair so that it, whipped against her reddening cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut as the blistering icy wind stung every part of her exposed skin. She couldn't open them; partially due to fear because of how fast they were flying, but mainly because the freezing wind would send tiny ice crystals into her eyes if she did. She had no idea how long they flew. She meant to ask the bird about going to get her papa, but they flew off so fast, she didn't remember until they were already too far away from the castle. Tears streaked down Sofia's face as she realized she would be going to a new country with a strange animal she only just met, but she had to do something to help her family. Soon enough, a sweet smelling aroma greeted her nose. It was a familiar scent that vaguely reminded her mother's warm embrace. Before she could identify it, she fell fast asleep.
Zeleny knew she would be freezing, and he couldn't have her dying, so he warmed his body as much as he could, and excreted a pheromone to help her fall asleep. It made the trip a lot more pleasant for both of them. The cikavac no longer had to feel her constant shivering, and could fly more easily now that she wasn't nearly pulling his feathers out. Flying non-stop all night and day, it took them just less than a day to get to Vasilia's castle (though, if he hadn't been carrying a small child and providing her with warmth, Zeleny could have made the trip in a little more than half that time). He was glad that he took the whole three days on the trip to Enchancia, as it allowed him enough energy to make the extremely quick return trip.
When Vasilia's castle came into view beneath the thick clouds, Zeleny began conserving the extra energy he had been using to keep Sofia warm and asleep. They would be inside soon enough, so she would be fine for the final decent into Vasilia's kingdom.
Sofia felt the chill of the air begin to prick her skin again as she awakened from her deep slumber. The pair was sill flying as if they were in a race, but not nearly as fast as they had been. She squinted her eyes open, trying to see her surroundings, but everything was obscured by the darkness of shadows in the foggy night as they flew through the frigid, misty air. Sofia buried her face into the bird's back and gently clung to his feathers.
It was a short while before Zeleny craned his neck behind him and nudged her gently with his beak. "Wake up, Printsessa. We are nearly there. Just a few more minutes." He said in his false melodious voice.
Sofia peaked her head up from his feathers and gazed around at the midnight around her. She could now see shadows of landscape beneath her, as they were much closer to the ground. She saw faint outlines of houses and streets in the dim moonlight that streamed through the clouds. She then looked forward passed Zeleny's head, and saw a massive castle looming in the distance with onion shaped domes and towering spires. The cold air blew through her hair as they decelerated. It reminded her of a night ride with Minimus, albeit very cold night ride.
Soon enough they came upon the castle and the pair coasted into a large open window. Zeleny flapped his massive wings, stopping in mid air before he landed gracefully on the glossy gold and red flooring. Sofia slowly climbed off the bird's back, being careful not to land too hard on her cold, stiff feet.
"Printsessa, why don't you go warm yourself by the fire while we wait for the mage who can use your amulet to break my curse." Zeleny purred.
Sofia shivered as she looked around the large ornate room. The walls were a warm marble with intricately carved whimsical floral patterns. The fireplace to her left had beautiful bright red bricks that shone like rubies, while the mantel was made of the same marble as the walls and had golden trim around the edges. Sofia walked over to the fireplace and faced away from it so that the flames warmed her back. For the majority of the ride, her front side was kept warm because of the heat from Zeleny's body, but her back had been exposed to the frigid elements. Almost immediately, her body began to warm again, and soon her shivering subsided into calm and easy breathing. Suddenly, her stomach growled angrily, pulling her out of her peaceful trance.
"Oh, dear malyshka, you must be starving! I unfortunately do not have any food to offer you, but I know that my dear friend will be coming any second now." Said the cikavac, softly crooning in a deep baritone.
"Oh, ok. Thank you." Said Sofia, finally regaining her voice. Now that she was getting warm again, she remembered why exactly the giant bird had convinced her to come. "Where's my family? Where are my papa's wife, or my little brother and sister?" She asked. In spite of the situation, Sofia felt an odd sense of satisfaction when she uttered the words, 'little brother and sister.'
Zeleny rolled his eyes before he looked back over to the child. "Worry not, little one. I will take you to them after my curse is broken. I promise."
Sofia furrowed her eyebrows. "Why? Wouldn't it be faster if you carried me the rest of the way there? Then we could get them out and you could fly away with them."
The massive bird suppressed a snarl and instead allowed a deep chortle to escape his beak. "Dear girl, I may have been able to carry you, and maybe I could carry two very small children, but I cannot take off with the extra weight of an adult."
"Oh." She said, casting her eyes away from the creature.
"Besides, it will be much easier, and much more pleasant, to sneak into the witch's dungeon with a small white bird, rather than a giant horrifying cikavac, don't you agree?" Zeleny looked straight into Sofia's eyes to affirm his point. Fear gripped her heart immediately; she swallowed hard and merely nodded her head, unable to make her mouth form words.
"Ah, prostite. I did not mean to frighten you." He said, looking away from the girl. "But I'm sure you know what I mean when I say it will be better to break the curse first, da?"
"Y-yes." Sofia's response was meager, but it was all she could muster. She turned around and faced the fireplace, trying to banish the oppressive fear that pressed heavily down on her. She gazed at the fireplace, thinking about her papa: her mom, her dad, and her siblings, both captive and free. They would be worrying; her free family, anyway. Mom was probably furious and heartbroken. Search parties were probably already sent out to look for her. Though, she wasn't exactly sure how long she'd been asleep, so there was no way for her to know how far they travelled. All she knew was that they were probably in Ledstrana, since Zeleny didn't intent to carry her the rest of the way to where her family was being kept. She stared in a silent trance at the dancing flames until a feminine voice came from behind the door. Sofia couldn't understand what she was saying though. The language sounded strange, and it didn't sound like the language that occasionally came from Zeleny's mouth. It sounded a little like what Cedric would say when he was casting spells; Sofia even thought she picked out the word 'potens,' which she thought she read in a spell book before. If she remembered correctly, it meant power, or something of the sort.
The huge door opened and a short, round faced woman in a cream colored frock came waddling in. "Dear Zeleny! It is good to see you, though you are still frightfully terrifying. I did not expect you to find the amulet, along with a willing bearer in such a short time." Said the woman, her voice round and bouncy like a jelly ball. She waddled over to Sofia and curtsied.
"Hello dear girl, I am the Annissa the Amiable at your service!"
"Oh, hello. Princess Sofia of Enchancia." Said Sofia with a wobbly curtsy. Her legs were still shaking slightly in uncontrollable fear of the cikavac.
"Oh dear, yes, it seems the nasty curse of the cikavac is still effecting you my dear—although I guess it never really does go away unless the cikavac does so, what do you think, sweet girl? Should we get this nasty curse over and done with so that you can stop quivering, and my friend can return to his old self?" The woman scuttled over to Sofia and put a hand on her shoulder. She smelled strangely: like lilies that had been thrown onto a funeral pyre.
"What do you have to do with my amulet?" Sofia asked, grasping at her necklace.
"You needn't worry, my child. All I have to do is take a teensy bit of magic from the amulet, wave my wand in Zeleny's direction and poof! He's back to his tiny white, wishing self again! … Or at least in theory."
"In theory?" Sofia blurted out.
The woman hooted and then snorted a chuckle. "Oh dear, did I say that out loud?"
Sofia gave her a look. "Um, yes! What do you mean?" she asked, concerned.
"Oh, I only mean that the magic in your amulet is very powerful and somewhat unpredictable. I'm sure you've experienced that first hand."
Sofia scrunched her face in slight embarrassment, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess that is true."
"Right then." Said the woman, clapping her chubby palms together. "So, with the unpredictability of the magic, it's not a one hundred percent guarantee that this will turn our good friend, Zeleny, back to his old self. But it's the only chance he's got to break the curse since Vasilia isn't going to lift it any time soon." She said with a lighthearted chortle.
Sofia bit the inside corner of her lip, considering her choice. "I'm not supposed to take it off."
The woman waved a hand and leaned over her shoulder. "Not to worry! We just need your say-so that we can use its magic, I give my wand a swift flick, and Zeleny is back to normal! It need not leave your neck." The woman waved her hand emphatically as she spoke.
Zeleny stalked over to her and craned his long neck over her shoulder. "I don't mean to impose, Printsessa. But the time is nearing when the curse will become permanent. I also would like to help you find your family as soon as possible. So pozhaluysta, please, do make quick your decision."
Sofia would have turned to look at the huge bird, but did not want to be frozen stiff from fear again. She looked at the round woman apprehensively. "Will he get hurt if it doesn't work?"
"Well, not all magic is sunshine and glitter, girl!" said the woman, placing her hands on her stout hips. "I'm sure any risks of pain, Zeleny is more than ready to go through if it means he returns to normal, isn't that right, dear friend?"
The cikavac nodded once slowly, the leathery pouch under his beak grazing against Sofia's shoulder. "Indeed. Though I trust in your adept hands to make sure nothing of the sort happens to me."
Sofia refused to look at the frightening creature and steeled herself, releasing the amulet from her grasp. "O-okay. If you're sure." She didn't trust this woman, but she couldn't put her finger on the reason why. Maybe it was the crippling fear she felt that was inhibiting her judgment, but at this point, she felt she didn't have much of a choice but to go along with what they said. If what the woman was saying was true, then she might as well help this poor creature.
The bird stepped back from her and she let out a breath of air she didn't realize she was holding. "I am sure, Printsessa. Spasibo. It is greatly appreciated."
Sofia took a step towards the woman and put both hands down at her sides. "A-alright. I'm ready."
"Not to worry, dear child. This won't hurt a bit!" The stout woman flicked her wrist, and from a small purple cloud of smoke, appeared a crinkled and knotted old stick of a wand. She hopped backwards and waved it around her head three times, making purple and white swirled sparks glitter from the end. She then thrust the wand toward Sofia, causing the swirled magic to rush toward her in a gleaming beam. It hit her necklace in a display of flashing sparks. She squeezed her eyes shut, and to her surprise, the sorceress was right, she felt no pain to speak of, just a buzzing sensation on her chest as the amulet gently vibrated. Sofia slowly opened her eyes and watched the small, round woman twirl her wand around in tight circles and scoot backwards. The white and purple beam pulled back from the amulet, now colored at the end with a bright magenta. She flicked her wrist once more, and shot the stream of magic at the great bird, who cried out, his wings flailing about.
"Stop! You're hurting him!" she cried.
"It—it is n-nothing, Printsessa! Do not stop, I believe it is working!" Zeleny grunted, still writhing.
Sofia winced at the scene. One final burst of magic obscured the dark bird in a pillar of white smoke. Sofia ran towards the smoke to see if it had worked, but before she could get to him, she froze. Her feet seemingly stuck to the floor as she was once again, frozen in fear.
The huge black bird beat his enormous wings once and cleared away the smoke. He stood up trying to balance, and his wings slumped to the floor like two massive feathery weights. "Perhaps the curse has become permanent already." He coughed.
Sofia put her hands to her mouth in shock. "Oh no!" she whispered.
"I'm sorry. I did all I could to help you, dear friend." The woman said to the bird as he struggled to right himself.
"It is alright. I knew the risk that it may not work." Replied the bird, his voice husky and thick.
"Here, let me try and heal your wounds." Said the woman. She then put a hand on Sofia's shoulder. "Princess, my assistant is waiting outside. Why don't you go ask him to take you to get some food while I tend to my dear friend?"
Sofia felt the need to stay, but couldn't deny the fact that she desperately wanted to escape from the oppressive fear she felt from the cikavac. She gave a worried glance to the woman, who offered a melancholy smile.
"Here, I'll walk you out to meet him." She said sweetly. Putting a hand on Sofia's back, she guided her to the massive stone door of the chamber.
There was, indeed a man outside the door, though he was more of a mountain than a man. Large and surly with jet-black hair and a square-lined jaw, he stood. His massive hands dangling like cinderblocks from his arms. Even under the black suit jacket, the broad arc of his shoulders was apparent and rendered the thick stock that was his neck nearly indivisible. He gazed down at Sofia—who only came up to his mid thigh—his eyebrows were thick, and weighed heavily on his midnight blue eyes, making deep crevasses in his forehead.
"Princess, this is my assistant, Vladimir." Chirped the woman as she pushed Sofia nearer to the imposing man.
He merely looked from the woman to Sofia, his face maintaining the same grave expression.
"Um, hi Mr. Vladimir. I'm Sofia." She said, giving a petite curtsy while she mustered a smile.
He blinked slowly at her and then looked back at the sorceress.
"Be a dear, Vlad, and take Princess Sofia to get something to eat?" said the woman.
Vlad glanced at Sofia, then turned to his left and began walking immediately.
"Thank you, Vlad!" she sang pushing Sofia along to follow him. "Don't worry, he might not talk much, but he'll take good care of you!"
Sofia looked apprehensively at the peachy round woman one last time. Now that she wasn't paralyzed with fear, she knew something was definitely odd about her and decided quickly that she'd rather take her chances with the silent giant. She then jogged a short distance to catch up with him, and followed him down the huge, marvelous maze of corridors.
—
The sorceress turned around and went back into the chamber where the bird still stood. "Bravo, dear Zeleny. You never cease to amaze me!" she said, walking up to the bird and stroking his beak.
"You are too kind, milady." Crooned the cikavac.
"I almost thought you were actually in pain! Though, please don't scare me like that again. I'd hate to have my right hand crippled at such a critical moment."
Zeleny chuckled deeply. "Of course milady. My apologies." He said tilting his head in a slight bow. "You almost had me fooled with that disguise as well, your skill never ceases to amaze me."
"Oh, you flatter me." She said, waving a hand.
"I merely speak the truth." Zeleny chuckled. "Were you able to gain enough power from the necklace?"
"Unfortunately, no. I was not able to glean any magic from the amulet with it still around her neck. She still needs to give it to me on her own will in order for me to extract the magic needed."
The cikavac nodded. "Right, milady. What is your command?"
The woman pondered for a moment, putting a stubby finger to her round chin.
"Why don't you take our dear amulet wielder to find her family? Take her for another short flight and I'll remove the cloaking spell. Come to me once she goes into the dungeon."
Zeleny nodded, hopped up onto her perch by the windowsill and then took off.
—
Sofia followed the mountain of a man through the ornate, maze-like corridors of the castle. Gleaming marble with ornate gold inlay decorated the walls. The floor also shone brightly with thick ribbons of ruby in each marble tile. Giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the lustrous corridors.
When they got to the kitchen, Vladimir gestured to a counter where a few baguettes and assorted fruits lay. "Oh, thank you!" Said Sofia as she quickly grabbed a baguette and a handful of blueberries. She bit into the crunchy, flakey crust to the soft, fluffy inside. It may have just been her hunger talking, but she was fairly certain that it was the best baguette she'd ever eaten. The blueberries were delicious as well; perfectly ripe and sweet, and when she bit down, the juice exploded into her mouth. Vlad lead her to a small table where she could sit and set the bowl of blueberries in front of her before going into another part of the kitchen.
When she had nearly finished the baguette, and her third handful of berries, Vlad came back and brought her a plate with two golden brown rolls that had a savory steam floating off of them. Sofia thought to ask what they were, but was so hungry, she didn't really mind. "Thank you." She said before taking the last bite of her baguette and then picked up one of the rolls. She swallowed the baguette quickly and took a bite. The filling inside pleasantly surprised her. There was meat, slightly gamey in texture but rich in flavor; it tasted like the duck her mom used to make on special occasions before they moved into the castle. Potatoes, carrots, and celery also colored the flavor of the meat, tainting it with a subtle sweetness. Since she had already eaten the baguette, her stomach was a little fuller, and she was able to slow herself down enough to really enjoy the savory rolls. After she had finished the first one, she decided to voice her curiosity.
"What are these? Did you make them?" she asked, smiling. Now that her stomach was full and she was away from the frightening, albeit friendly, cikavac, she was starting to feel more like herself again.
Vlad looked down at her from behind his nose and glared at her silently for a moment. "Pirozhki. No." he finally answered, his voice so deep and rumbling that Sofia nearly felt it in her own chest.
"Oh. If you didn't, who did?"
He blinked at her. Then looked back up and folded his hands in front of him.
"How come you don't like to talk? It can't be because you don't like the sound of your voice. I knew a knight like that once." Sofia said as she took a bite of the second roll.
Her only answer was, once again, the stern silent gaze of the man.
"Oookay, then. Thank you for the meal, anyway. It's delicious." She said sincerely before turning away from the man to finish eating.
Just as she was finishing the last of her pirozhki, she got the feeling that someone other than Vlad was watching her. She looked around the room, but only saw the massive man standing across from her with his hands folded in front of him. She put the last bite in her mouth and tried to shake off the feeling, but it was only getting more intense. Soon enough, she felt the familiar sense of paralyzing dread coming over her, as a tap sounded at the window.
Sofia jerked her head around, startled by the noise. Vlad opened the window and let in the familiar, terrifying bird. Luckily, he closed the window promptly to keep the freezing air outside.
"Privetstviye again, Printsessa." Said the cikavac, bowing his head.
"Oh, hello Zeleny. A-are you feeling okay?" she asked after swallowing the last bit of fried dough.
"I am feeling as good as I can, Printsessa. I trust Vladimir has taken good care of you. Is the food to your liking?"
"Oh, yes, it's delicious!" She said, trying to smile.
"Very good. Have you had your fill? We should get to your family as soon as possible."
Sofia hopped down from her seat and nodded. "Of course! Where are they?"
Zeleny stepped towards her, his head towering over her own. "They are being kept in Vasilia's dungeon. It is not too far of a walk from here, but it will be much faster if I fly you there."
Sofia gulped hard. Despite the crippling terror she felt around the bird, she fought to remind herself to stay strong for her family's sake, and did her best to put on a brave face. "R-right. Let's go."
Couple words for translation
Privetstviye - Greetings
Spasibo - thank you
Prostite - Sorry
Malyshka - child
